Cities all over the United States will be celebrating Bastille Day, the national French holiday, this weekend. Milwaukee, the city of festivals, is having its own celebration.

Commemorated every year on July 14, Bastille Day is akin to our July 4 because it celebrates the beginning of a journey to independence. On July 14, 1789, peasants stormed the Bastille prison and ignited the revolution against the existing monarchical rule in France. Though originally a bloody and violent affair, Bastille Day is now celebrated with pageantry.

"It's a holiday, it's warm out, it's a time to get together with your family and have fun," says Anne Leplae, executive director of Alliance Française in Milwaukee.

The Milwaukee Bastille Days festival features dozens of street vendors.

Credit Alesandra Tejeda

Why do we celebrate another country's independence day in the U.S? Well, French influence is entwined in our history. During the 17th century, French fur traders and missionaries settled in Wisconsin. Their influence is seen in many names in the state, such as Fond du Lac, which means "bottom of the lake".

In fact, Wisconsin used to be spelled Ouisconsin "because the first people who drew up the maps were French," says Leplae.

The fur trade led to the development of the city of Milwaukee. Milwaukee's first residents were of French origin, and its first mayor, Solomon Juneau, was French-Canadian. Though the French legacy in Milwaukee is strong, the annual celebration of Bastille Day didn't start until the '80s.

The Bastille Days festival is in Cathedral Square Park and features an Eiffel Tower replica that stands 43 feet tall.

Credit Alesandra Tejeda

"If you remember the 1980s, it was a time when downtown Milwaukee was collapsing. There was flight into the suburbs and the businesses were collapsing," says Leplae.

Nobody wanted to come into downtown. François Niveau, a frenchman and the general manager at the Pfister Hotel at the time, and others decided: " 'Let's create something fun to bring people back downtown.' ... That was the genesis of Bastille Days," says Leplae.

So, 38 years ago, Milwaukee had its first Bastille Days festival. Though it started small, it has grown to become the biggest Bastille Day celebration in North America, according to Leplae.

It features a giant Eiffel Tower created by engineers at the Milwaukee School of Engineering, street vendors, and a run on opening night that simulates the storming of the Bastille, albeit with beer as an optional refreshment.

What would the original revolutionaries think about our Bastille Day celebrations?

"I really think that the idea of having a free street festival is completely in line with [them]. This is an event for the people," Leplae says.

The growing shortness of attention spans affects more areas of society than you might think. The food industry has seemed to play into this as well, but there are some chefs that still take the time and care in their cooking. Milwaukee chef Gene Webb of North Shore Boulangerie explains the changes he’s noticed in the food industry and what he’s doing to preserve what he learned while studying in France.

More than five thousand participants stormed the Bastille last Thursday in the 35th annual 5K run and walk. The ever-popular race closes Milwaukee’s downtown streets and gives participants the unique experience of not only taking over the city, but racing at night.

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